Jyotisha through the ages

-- © Dr. Satya Prakash Choudhary

Jyotisha, which is often referred to in the west as Vedic astrology, is
an integral part of Indian life. It provides us with light on life. The
ancient seers used it primarily for timing the rituals around which the
Vedic culture was based. Broadly speaking ancient Indian arts and
sciences has gone through four phases- Vedic, Puranic, Tantric and
Modern .
There are two versions in vogue. According to the first the three
traditions - the Vedic, Puranic and Tantric/Agamic are equally old and
co-existent. It is just that they reveal the Truth in various ways. The
other version prevalent is that the Vedic tradition is the oldest followed
by the Puranic. Whatever may be the case, one thing is certain.
Historically ancient wisdom seems to have been through various
phases with each phase adopting/emphasizing one of the three
traditions predominantly. In other words the Veda, the Purana and
Tantra rose to popularity during various periods historically.
Veda
The Vedas are the most ancient spiritual literature of India . 'Veda'
literally means knowledge, knowledge of truth based upon direct
perception. This knowledge is not theoretical. It is based on an actual
experience of Cosmic Consciousness. Such knowledge flows naturally
through the seer in the state of pure consciousness. It was revealed
knowledge springing from the One source, the source of all that is. The
Vedas as they are handed down to us are the revelations of many
seers who had achieved such high states of pure consciousness.
Nobody can be said to be the author, since the knowledge is universal
and eternal. The ancient seers and their disciples preserved this
knowledge and handed it down to the next generations, with each
generation learning it orally. It was many thousand years later that the
Vedas were actually written. It is still a living tradition in India , albeit
with some differences. The Rg vedic sages had identified the
luminaries, the planets, the nodes and the 27 asterisms or nakshatras.
They were primarily concerned with reckoning time in order to perform
the sacrifices according to certain cycles. The nodes too have received
the attention of the sages. In line with the principles underlying the Rg
veda, a vedic astrologer should actually use the nakshatras and the
nodes more than what is being done now by the vast majority.

Purana
 Many thousand years later the Puranas taught the spiritual
principles of the Vedas in the form of mythology. Concepts and ideas
were symbolized as characters and depicted in the Puranas. The
Puranas are probably semi-historical and mythological in nature.
Whatever their actual nature, when demystified, the Puranas also
speak of the same Vedic truths. But one should be cautious and not
take the Puranas as an infallible authority. In fact some great thinkers
of India have rejected the Puranas as not being fully authentic.
Intolerance shown in some puranas to the Jains, or Buddhists, or even
rival sects within Hinduism is quite often due to later additions,
interpolations and expansions by certain over zealous followers.

Let me explain more about the puranas. As the Linga Purana says, it
could be possible that sage Parasara taught the original Purana
Samhita to his son Vyasa who in turn taught it to Romaharshana. Thus
though all the puranas are attributed to Vyasadeva himself, the texts
of the eighteen puranas were written by various disciples. This has
resulted in some differences between the texts. Moreover, most of
these texts that we see today in their present and final form were
rewritten with many interpolations between 300AD and 1000AD. But
earlier versions of the puranas were in existence even during 500BC.
This also explains the differences and contradictions between the
puranas. Hence to take everything in the puranas as final or authentic
in a historical or factual sense may be erroneous. At the same time,
this should not deter us from benefiting from the living wisdom.
Moreover there are many gems, facts and spiritual truths in these
myths in spite of the interpolations. Most of the interpolations are
obvious to a discerning reader in their subject and style. Some
accounts are amplified beyond their primary scope. At times efforts to
glorify or elevate particular schools of thought or deities are made in
these interpolations. But it is possible to still feel the common spirit
and the original sense of the myth.

Agama
Later came the period of Agamas, when Tantra ' rose to'
popularity (what I mean is that Tantra existed even before this time,
but ROSE to popularity during this period of the Agamas. In fact
Tantra is as old as the Veda and could possibly be related to the
'Vratya' culture whose remnants could have survived in the tantric
tradition. There are many internal references to the Vratyas in the
Vedas themselves. Unfortunately Tantra has been misrepresented and
abused so much that today Tantra is associated with black magic and
inferior practices and the very word carries a negative connotation to
the lay person). The period of the Agamas was the period of
techniques. A majority of the people had come far away from the
natural state of the mind. With this came the need for techniques and
formulae. Most of the works written in this period reflect this attitude.
Nevertheless the Vedic principles still remained the basis. Remedial
measures like yantras, gems etc reveal influences of the Tantric
period. Let me add a note here.
The essence of Tantra is Vedic while the myths and deities are
Puranic in origin. Present day Hinduism, it should be noted, is a
mixture of all these approaches. In fact, a lot in Hinduism is closer to
practical tantra than we imagine. The principal Vedic deities like
Prajapati, Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma etc., are not really an integral
part of popular Hinduism today. There are almost no temples to these
Vedic deities in India today, while all the key deities popular in present
day India- like Shiva (the auspicious), Vishnu (the sustainer),
Saraswati (patron Goddess of learning), Durga, Kali, Lalita (all aspects
of Sakti) who are more Tantric and Puranic in origin- have hundred
thousands of temples throughout India. Most of the scriptures today
are at root Tantric- if not in source -at least in aspiration. It is hard to
differentiate between the vedantic and tantric traditions in present day
Hinduism, as they are intricately woven into each other. To say that
Tantra came later and influenced the Vedic (vedantic) tradition, is far
from the truth. Both the traditions seem to have existed since ancient
times, influencing each other. Today even an orthodox Advaitic
parampara like the Sringeri math, prescribes agamic (tantric) practices
for its followers. Thus both the Tantric and Vedic (vedantic) traditions
are co-existent and often intricately linked.

It now becomes clear that to understand any ancient Indian art or

science all these three aspects are to be examined. So too with
Jyotisha. The spiritual principles of astrology have their basis in the
Vedas. The Puranas depict the same truth as interesting stories
making use of the powers of imagination of the mind. To miss these
illuminating stories is to miss part of the teachings. Many well known
classical works of Hindu astrology have been compiled/written during
the Agamic/Tantric period and thus necessitate a basic knowledge of
the Agama sastra if one wishes to fully appreciate the context or
meaning (for instance the most elaborate description of the
astrological use of 'Sarvatobhadra chakra' is found not in an
exclusively astrological text, but an agamic text called 'Brahma
Yamala'). Hence all the above tools have to be employed in any
attempt to learn Jyotisha if one hopes to glimpse even a fraction of the
truth. In other words, the spiritual principles, the demystified stories
and the classical works of astrology should all be utilized in the
learning process.

The scientific aspect of Jyotisha

Apart from the above three aspects of learning Jyotisha, another

important point has to be kept in mind. Astrology is both an art and
science. As a science, its principles work in patterns that are
replicable. Otherwise it would cease to be a science. Unless its
principles can be demonstrated to be replicable (at least under certain
conditions) the student cannot place his/her faith in astrology as a
science. For this reason it has to be studied with a scientific attitude so
that one can discern dogma from scientific principles. This is the
growing trend during the modern times. This aspect too has to be
studied, though one should not forget that Jyotisha is not a mundane
science, but a divine science par excellence. The modern student of
Jyotisha has to keep in mind all the above factors. Hence to appreciate
Jyotisha fully one has to study all the following aspects.

The spiritual principles (Vedic and Tantric)

• The myths (Puranic)
• The classical techniques and combinations given in the texts
(medieval)
• Replicability of the patterns (scientific or modern).

Now let us look at the history of Jyotisha briefly. It is hard to find

the exact time of the origin of Jyotisha. Scholars do not agree with
each other and are constantly changing their views. Yet one thing is
certain. The roots of Jyotisha are as old as Vedic knowledge. As for the
Vedas the traditional view is that they are 'Apauruseya'. The risis are
said to be the ones through whom the knowledge was revealed. They
are not its authors. Vedic wisdom is considered eternal. But for
historical purposes one may have to use some dating process. The
attempt here should be seen only in this light. Without taking the
dates for the Vedic or Puranic period as definite, let us try to look at
the issue objectively.

Vedic period : (>8000 BC?)

 Many scholars say that astrology wasn't yet predictive and that the
vedic emphasis was only on astronomy and muhurta (electional
astrology). While a superficial study could lead to the above view,
deeper study leaves no doubt that the Vedic hymns have a predictive
basis at least in a seed form. Here a major distinction has to be made
between the Veda, Vedanga Jyotisha and Jyothisha.

Veda, Vedanga Jyotisha and Jyotisha

The word Jyotisha can mean both Astronomy as well as Astrology.

As for the Vedas, they do not speak directly about either, be it
astrology or astronomy. The Samhitas refer to the luminaries,
constellations etc. This knowledge may be employed for various
purposes. The purpose depends on the user too and not just the
knowledge revealed. It is Vedanga Jyotisha (which is ascribed to the
late Vedic period) that is astronomical, not the Veda or Jyotisha. It
should be pointed out that there are at least four approaches to
interpreting the Veda.
1. The Adhi Yajna approach
2. The Adhi Daivata approach
3. The Adhyatma approach
4. The Tritaya approach

While the Vedas have a ritualistic basis too, the roots are even
deeper, running into psychological, philosophical and spiritual depths.
Hence the need for various approaches to interpret the Veda. Sayana
has relied on the Adhi Yajna approach largely. In this approach the
knowledge of the luminaries, Nakshatras etc is employed in fixing the
time for the vedic rituals. The rules of Vedanga jyotisha seem to have
been evolved for finding the Tithis and Nakshatras for the purposes of
the Vedic rituals or yajnas.

Vedanga Jyotisha and the Siddhantas

Lagadha is said to have * compiled* the 36 slokas of Rgveda

jyotisha. Vedanga Jyotisha is a collection of Rg, Yajur and Atharvaveda
Jyotisha. As already stated the calculations of Vedanga Jyotisha seem
to have been used for timing the Vedic rituals (yajnas). Since the
calculations of Vedanga Jyotisha needed regular corrections which is a
very tedious process, the Hindus took to the Siddhantas at a later
date. The Siddhantas have more straightforward and accurate (in a
way) methods of calculating. But where did the Siddhantas come
from? According to tradition they were already existing (probably
through the other traditions like the Puranic tradition) when they were
adopted by the later day brahmins. They represented the teachings of
various sages (a few of which seemed to be from foreign lands too
though the majority of them are the teachings of the Hindu seers). So
the Siddhantas did not spring forth suddenly, but rose to popularity
due to the Brahmins favouring them due to reasons already stated.

It is interesting to note that scholars found many verses in 'Vedanga

Jyotisha' quite obscure till the late Sri Shama Sastry came up with an
interesting exposition based on 'light from an unexpected quarter'. He
studied Jaina astrological works like 'Suryapragnapti' and
'Jyotishkaranda'. Curiously these works have preserved calculations
along the lines of 'Vedanga Jyotisha' (probably for the observance of
religious customs performed on Full Moon and New Moon days) though
the Hindus themselves took to the Siddhantas.

I should remind the reader that I made a distinction between the

'Veda', 'Vedanga Jyotisha' and 'Jyotisha' earlier in this article. It is only
'Vedanga Jyotisha' (the reference here is to an actual text by that
name) that is astronomical while Jyotisha can mean both astronomy as
well as astrology. Of course the Veda itself does not speak directly of
either. As already pointed out, there are at least four approaches to
interpreting the Veda. The seemingly different approaches are not
contradictory or disparate. They are co-existent in a way. Thus the
Vedic hymns can be interpreted in more than one way and at more
than one level- ritualistic, psychological and spiritual. As the Skanda
Smrti suggests the Vedic corpus has three meanings ('trayorthas
sarva-vedeshu' ). These three meanings can be accommodated in an
integrated and interrelated approach which the 'Tritaya' school of
thought purports to do.

The Tritaya approach to the Veda

The 'tritaya' is a reconciliation of the adhiyajna, the adhi-daivata

and adhyatma approaches as observed by the famous scholar Sri S. K.
Ramachandra Rao in his 'Rgveda Darsana'. The adhyatma is implicit in
the adhi-daivata which in turn is implicit in the adhiyajna.
 The integrated 'tritaya' approach to the Veda is in accord with the
eligibility and capability of the student or seeker of knowledge, each of
the meanings being meant for one of the possible levels of the
student. So at one level the Vedic hymns may refer to the individual
devatas like Agni, Soma or Indra. At another level they refer to the
one principal devata who is the origin and inner ruler of all devatas. At
yet another level they may refer to the seeker's own psycho-physical
constitution ruled by the Self. In accordance with the integrated
approach some of the Vedic hymns can be interpreted to derive the
fundamental basis of Jyotisha, specifically predictive astrology. For
instance the various hymns involving the grahas refer to the
significations (karakatwas) of the grahas which form the basis of every
good prediction. Any astrologer with a good knowledge of the basics of
predictive astrology as well as some knowledge of these vedic hymns,
will be able to identify these karakatwas from the vedic hymns with
little effort. It is only a misconception that the Vedas have no
astrological basis at all. But that should be dealt with more elaborately
in a separate article.

Atharvana Jyotisha

There is an important text called 'Atharva Jyotisha' containing 14

chapters and 162 slokas in all. As this text deals with the weekday too,
it may be of recent origin relatively. Though it does not belong to the
vedic period as such, its affiliation (at least by name) qualifies it to be
discussed here. Moreover it deals with some of the basic foundations
of Muhurta as well as predictive astrology though it is largely a
Samhita text. I will describe some of its contents briefly. The division
of time, Nakshatras- roudra, soumya and karma yoga taras, moon's
strength as a basis for planetary results, tarabala, graha, ulka, vidyut,
bhukampa (earthquakes) etc are all dealt with in this text. A famous
verse from this text is from the seventh chapter (verse 21). "In the
matter of their potency for bestowing benefits for rituals performed
during their currency, the tithi ranks one-fold, the nakshatra four-fold,
the Vara eight-fold and the karana sixteen fold." A later text by name
'Phalita Navaratna Samgraha' expands on this further by adding the
relative significance of yoga, chandrabalam and tarabalam. The
resultant points allotted now are as follows according to the 'Phalita
Navaratna Samgraha':

Lunar day = 1,
Weekday = 8,
 Constellation = 4
Yoga = 32,
Karana = 16
Chandrabala = 100
Tarabala = 60

Epic period:
Many references to calculations and predictive astrology are found in
the epics. As already stated, the exact timing of these periods varies
from scholar to scholar, with some conservative scholars trying to
place the vedic period around 2000BC and the epic period even later
till the 6 th century AD. Moreover it should be remembered that
scholars often go by the written records, while the ancient seers
passed on the wisdom orally for thousands of years, till it was finally
recorded or compiled in a written form. The views of modern historians
and archeologists are quite often arbitrary and subjective and at times
even motivated. Either ways, the point here is that the sages belonged
to the vedic period. Traditionally the knowledge handed down by the
sages is considered as revealed, divine and hence authentic. Once Kali
yuga started, imperfections are said to have crept in. Any source after
this period is traditionally not considered infallible. I will confine myself
to mentioning that puranas like the Narada purana deal with Jyotisha
quite extensively while itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata too
have references to eclipses, the Sun, Moon, Tithis, Nakshatras, grahas,
yugas etc.

Historic/Agamic period:

The Buddha and astrology

It is possible that the earliest form of predictive astrology is the
Samhita division of astrology and that Hora sastra was evolved later.
Historically speaking we don't know the exact level of knowledge of
predictive astrology in India before the 6 th century BC. But it is well
known that the astrologer Asita predicted that the newborn prince
might become a renunciant. There are slightly variant versions of this
(such as the Pali canon Nalaka Sutta in Sutta-Nipata ) though the
essence is same. According to one version Asita was an astrologer
while another suggests that he was a sage who came from the
Himalayas . According to yet another version many leaned Brahmins
were invited to the name giving ceremony (namakarana) on the
fifteenth day. Eight of them were learned in interpreting the signs on
the body (Samudrika sastra). Two of the many astrologers who were
called by king Suddhodhana found that the position of the planets at
the time of birth was such that the new born child would be a
'chakravarti' meaning 'one who would turn the wheel of law'. This
could mean either 'the king of kings' (an emperor) or 'one who would
set the wheel of dharma in motion'! It is said that Asita however,
asserted that there was no question of an alternative meaning and
that the child would grow up to establish dharma by founding a new
order of religion. The prince did become the Buddha!

From this we know that predictive astrology was practiced during 6

th century BC itself in India though it is not definitely clear whether it
was Hora or Samhita that was predominantly in use (I have used only
the most widely accepted date for the Buddha here though there are
other versions placing him at even earlier dates). The Buddha being a
Gnani, insisted on Purushartha - that personal effort and discipline
played a major role in spiritual development. Since his focus was on
Nirvana, like most gnanis (the path of Gnana emphasizes Self-
Knowledge), he condemned astrology. It is interesting that Swami
Vivekananda condemned astrology while his own Guru Sri
Ramakrishna was open to astrology; here again lies the difference
between how a bhakta (devotee) and gnani see things. The Buddha
felt that astrology made people weak. With the rise of Buddhism,
interest in astrology too went down (but interestingly Tibetan
Buddhism has embraced astrology as an integral part of its Medical
studies!). By the time of king Ashoka (3 rd century BC), astrology was
out of favor and was ignored.

Golden period in the history of Modern Jyotisha

However after the 3rd century BC, there was a revival of interest in
astrology as is evident from some excavations at Sanchi. Around this
time the teachings of the eighteen seers rose to prominence. By the 1
st century BC, Ujjain had become the Greenwich of India of those
days. Ideas were exchanged and technical discussions held. Astrology
was gaining strength and popularity again. Of course about the same
time astrology was growing in both its form as well as popularity in the
West too under the influence of certain intellectuals from Hipparchus
(150 BC) to Ptolemy (140 AD). There was a surge in predictive
astrology the world around by now.
 Around the 1 st BC thanks to the Saka and Suhana rulers, predictive
astrology RE-ENTERED India . Greek astrology had its influences on
India . Scholars who argue that predictive astrology came to India
from elsewhere focus on this RE-ENTRY conveniently forgetting the
earlier references to predictive astrology as in the case of Asita. Here I
am not suggesting that astrology originated only in India . It could
even be possible that it originated simultaneously in certain other
parts of the world in some other ancient civilizations too since some of
the earliest civilizations had some connections or even shared a
common origin (especially the ancient Indians and Babylonians). Yet it
is only India that can definitely boast of an almost unbroken living
tradition of astrology, while the other great ancient civilizations
haven't left such unbroken living traditions). Based on both internal as
well as external evidences most Indian astrologer-scholars hold that
Indian astrology is distinctly original. Here let me clarify that I am not
denying any external influences on Jyotisha at various points of time.
External influences have surely enriched Jyotisha in more than a few
ways. But as far as foreign origins (especially Greek) are concerned,
such theories are untenable. Since this controversy is not really
relevant to our present topic, I will leave it here and move on.

By around 400AD the Siddhantic calendar based on the Pancha

Siddhantas was gaining prominence. Here I should refer to the
eighteen (or nineteen) pravarthakas or pioneers of jyotisha. According
to Kasyapa, the 18 pravarthakas are Surya, Pitamaha, Vyasa,
Vasishta, Atri, Parasara, Kasyapa, Narada, Garga, ,Mareechi, Manu,
Angeerasa, Lomasa, Poulisa, Chyavana, Yavana, Bhrigu and Saunaka.
It can be seen that some of these seers figure as smrtikartas too as
Jyotisha, Smrti (especially the Dharma sastras and Puranas) are all
interlinked and have a similar purpose. To illustrate my point here I
should draw attention to a very interesting text called
'Veerasimhavalokah' written by a scholar king by name Sri Vira Simha
Dev. This text is unique in that it combines Ayurveda, Jyotisha and
Dharma sastra while dealing with the etiology as well as treatment of
various diseases. Such is the place of Jyotisha in India till the modern
times. Resuming the main topic of the eighteen pravarthakas, to the
above mentioned list Parasara adds one more name - that of Pulastya
whom Narada seems to refer to as Poulastya. Another difference is
that Narada refers to Acharya instead of Surya. Now let us see the
various pravarthakas and their contribution.

The Pravarthakas of Jyotisha

 Surya: It is said that Surya revealed the Surya Siddhanta to Maya.
But there are three Surya siddhantas according to some- one
belonging to the period of the rishis, another one referred to by
Varahamihira in his 'Panchasiddhantika' and finally the modern 'Surya
Siddhanta' which is a popular text for Siddhanta.

Brahma: While some opine that Pitamaha of 'Pitamaha Siddhanta'

is the same as Brahma, a more traditional view of Brahma's role is
found in the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra in the following slokas from
the 97 th chapter. "The great sage Parasara said: O Brahmin (meaning
Maitreya)! I have described to you the Jyotish Sastra as narrated by
Lord Brahma to the sage Narada and by Narada to Saunaka and other
sages from whom I received the knowledge of this Sastra. I have
narrated the same Jyotisha Sastra which I learnt from them." Of
course Pitamaha of Pitamaha Siddhanta fame is not the same as
Brahma.

Vyasa: Vyasa deserves special treatment due to various reasons

which will become obvious as you read more. Instead of writing
anything new, I will quote from an unpublished work of mine here.

""I am Vyasa among the sages", declared Lord Krishna to Arjuna.

Such is the greatness of Vyasa. He is the most significant among all
the incarnations of the Divine. According to most Puranas, Vyasa is the
17 th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Some puranas even include him in
the ten major incarnations of Vishnu. What we call Hinduism today, its
entire body of literature is directly or indirectly from Vyasa. He saved
the ' Sacred Word ' or Veda as it was revealed. He divided the Vedas .
He reclaimed the fourth Veda into the mainstream. He edited the
Vedas and made a plan to preserve Vedic wisdom intact for the people
of Kali Yuga. He composed the original 'Mahabharata' and thus the
'Bhagavad Gita' too. He gave the 'Purana Samhita' and thus the entire
puranic literature in a way. He composed the essence of the
Upanishads in the form of the 'Brahma Sutras'. Not satisfied with all
this, he gave us the holy 'Srimad Bhagavatam', the book of books, one
that takes spiritual love, the highest form of love, to its pinnacle. He
gave us countless stotras (like Vishnu Sahasranama etc) embedded
within the Puranic literature.

Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa is undoubtedly the architect of Spiritual

India of Kali Yuga. As Sri Aurobindo said, the Mahabharata is the
National poem and Vyasa the National poet of India . Vyasa gave us
almost everything that we see as 'Sanatana Dharma' today. His life
was dedicated to the ' Sacred Word '. He upheld Dharma. He authored
an unbelievable body of knowledge. He is the most prolific author
ever, an editor par excellence. The more you know of Hinduism, the
more you realize the greatness of Vyasa. We would not have heard the
Vedas in their pristine form without him. There wouldn't be the
Puranas, or the Mahabharata, or the Brahma Sutras, or the Gita, or
the various stotras, stutis and sahasranamas . Vyasa is thus, the most
significant among all the incarnations of Vishnu. For how would we
know about the various incarnations, if not through his works?
Whatever we know of most incarnations of Vishnu, is through Vyasa.

. Vyasa is the editor par excellence. With unbelievable zeal and

divine inspiration, he redacted the Vedas. He standardized the Vedas,
the order and the accents of every mantra, which has come down to
us intact since a few thousand years. Vyasa is by far the most prolific
among writers. He survived the Kurukshetra war and later composed
the original Mahabharata, on which, with interpolations and additions,
the present structure of the epic rests. Today the Mahabharata is the
world's longest epic, and is considered as the fifth veda. The highly
revered Bhagawad Gita is just a portion of this great and inspiring
epic. The Puranic literature, which originally was said to consist of ten
million verses, is also attributed to him. He is said to have composed
the Brahma Sutras. The list is endless. Such a gigantic feat and prolific
intellectual work remain unparalleled.

. It is said that in each age (Mahayuga), in every Dwapara yuga,

Vishnu in his form of Veda Vyasa, incarnates to uphold the Vedas. He
divides the Vedas and helps to preserve them for the coming kali
yuga. . In this Manvantara, twenty-eight mahayugas have elapsed.
Thus twenty-eight Veda Vyasas have incarnated so far! The Vyasa for
this Dwapara yuga is Krishna Dwaipayana, the son of the illustrious
sage Parasara, who is considered the father of Vedic astrology, for it is
held widely that it was he who composed the famous astrological text
'Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra'. Parasara was the son of Shaktri and the
grandson of Vasishta, the greatest among sages. ."
The above extracts are from 'Vyasa and Parasara' - the lives of two
of the greatest Vedic seers recreated" also subtitled " A story of the
fulfillment of a great mission by a father and son" . As is evident from
the general tone of the extracts it can be gleaned that the above work
was not intended for historical purposes. In this unpublished work of
mine, I tried to recreate the story of Vyasa and Parasara from all the
references to their lives as found scattered in the various puranas and
legends of India . Yet the reader can catch a glimpse of Vyasa's role
traditionally speaking. Coming back to the eighteen pravarthakas-

Vasishta: Vasishta siddhanta has an important place among the

Panchasiddhantas. It is more in depth than Pitamaha Siddhanta.
Varahamihira quotes 13 slokas from Vasishta Siddhanta. During
Brahmagupta's time there were two Vasishta Siddhantas, one old and
another relatively new.

Atri: Atri and his descendants were well versed in the knowledge of
Eclipses as revealed by the Rg Veda. Since eclipses and the nodes
have a significant place in vedic knowledge, Atri is given a place
among the 18 pravarthakas.

Parasara: Parasara needs no special introduction to a student of

Jyotisha as he is more or less unanimously accepted as the father of
Jyotisha. But some make a distinction between Parasara the smrtikarta
and Parasara the author of BPHS. In that case, the second Parasara
may be placed between 5 th BC and 5 th AD. Reference to Parasara is
found in Kautilya's 'Arthasastra' too. There are many references to
astrology and astrologers in the 'Arthasastra'.

Narada: He is said to have revealed the 'Narada Samhita' the first

among the Samhitas. This text has 55 chapters. The original text
seems to have had only 37 chapters to which 18 chapters were added
later. The three major ancient divisions of Jyotisha- Siddhanta,
Samhita and Hora are mentioned in the fourth sloka. It is mentioned in
the text that Narada also wrote a text on Hora called 'Naradeeya Hora
Sastra'. This text is not available today. Such early texts may throw
further light on the origins of Hora sastra.

Garga: There are many works attributed to Garga. Though he does

not seem to have authored these books, it is well accepted that Garga
is among the most ancient authorities. Bhattotpala (8 th century AD)
in his commentary on 'Brihat Jataka' tells us of Garga Hora Sastra.
Moreover he is also among the most important figure-heads in Jaina
astrology too.

Mareechi: Though there is no extant work of Mareechi, we can only

infer that his work must have had been well known at one time as
Govinda Daivagna quotes Mareechi.
 Manu: He is better known for his contribution to Dharma sastra.

Angira: It is not uncommon to use the terms 'Angira' and

'Brihaspati' interchangeably. It is said that a text called 'Barhaspatya
Samhita' was in existence in the past.

Romasa: Some suggest that Romasa, Lomasa and Romaka are all
the same. Lomasa Samhita is among the ancient works while Romaka
Siddhanta is among the Panchasiddhantas. But Romaka and Lomasa
seem to be two different individuals. Both are accepted by some as
pravarthakas. But Romaka Siddhanta is of foreign origin ( Rome ?)
Some suggest that the knowledge of Jyotisha spread from the Hindus
to other places and after subsequent developments again interacted
with Jyotisha. Whatever be the case, Romaka Siddhantha has a foreign
route of entry as we know it currently. As Varahamihira tells us (in the
form of a conversation between Surya and Aruna in the beginning of
his 'Panchasiddhantika') due to a curse Surya is said to have taken
birth among the Yavanas and taught Romaka the subject. He in turn is
said to have spread the teachings.

Paulisa: Paulisa siddhanta is an ancient work again considered to

be a foreign one. Varahamihira says that Latadeva is the commentator
of both Paulisa and Romaka Siddhantas. Paulaha, Paulisa, Paulastya
are the other names which we come across in various places in this
context. The Mahabharata mentions Paulastya and Pulaha as the sons
of Brahma.

Chyavana: As in the case of Mareechi we can only infer the

existence of Chyavana's work through Govinda Daivagna's quotes.

Yavana: Yavana parampara is also among the ancient recognized

schools of astrology. Varahamihira, Bhattotpala and Kalyana Verma
have all eulogized the Yavanas in their works. Sphudidwaja's 'Yavana
Jataka' (269 or 270 AD) claims to be the versified version of a prose
work of one previous Yavaneswara. Latadeva has written a
commentary on 'Yavana Jataka'. All these three authors predate
Varahamihira. Another later author by name Meena Raja authored a
work called 'Vriddha Yavana Jataka'. While the influence of Greek
astrology on these works need not be denied, it should be pointed that
both these texts share more than 90% likeness with Hindu astrology
(and culture) and show less resemblance (up to 5 to 10%) to Greek
works as known today. Due to such reasons it is debatable whether
original Greek works were thoroughly Indianised or whether Yavana
jataka (as referred to by the Indian astrologers) itself is only a form of
astrology practiced by the already Indianised Greeks or Ionians who
grafted Greek ideas and concepts onto Indian astrology. But one thing
is certain. The ancient Indians were universal and catholic in their
outlook. They did not hesitate to openly acknowledge the greatness of
the Yavanas too. A lesson or two may be learnt from such instances by
all of us who dogmatically prefer to behave like the 'frog in the well'.
Yet one should retain a healthy pride in the greatness of Jyotisha as
taught by the Indian seers too.

Bhrigu : Bhrigu Samhita is a text that is quite famous. Govinda

Daivagna has quoted the sayings of sage Bhrigu in his text. We also
find Bhrigu readings (similar to the South Indian Nadis in some sense)
in North India where the individual's horoscope is already found in the
numerous palm leaf manuscripts written long back. Interestingly
neither Varahamihira nor Kalyana Verma has mentioned anything
about Bhrigu Samhita.

(I have come across a Bhrigu reader in Varanasi who allowed me to

see the leaf for a brief moment only preferring to read it himself for
reasons best known to him. During another visit to Varanasi during the
Maha Kumbhamela of 2001, I also studied a few palm leaf manuscripts
(with readings for some charts) of the said Bhrigu Samhita at the
private library of Sri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri of Varanasi. Here I was
allowed to even film some of the manuscripts. Sri Bhaduri has
inherited a vast collection of thousands of rare and known manuscripts
on various ancient sastras, from his father who seems to have been a
versatile scholar. As for Sri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri himself, he seemed
to be more knowledgeable in Samudrika sastra than Jyotisha.)

Saunaka : Both BPHS as well as Muhurta Chintamani mention

Saunaka's name. He also figures in many puranas.

As already stated Narada refers to Acharya instead of Surya. It is

possible according to some that the Acharya referred to by both
Narada as well as Parasara, is actually a Jaina astrologer-sage.
 Among the above mentioned pravarthakas, the works of five seers
find a place in the 'Pancha Siddhanthas'. As already stated by around
400AD the Siddhantic calendar based on the Pancha Siddhantas had
gained prominence. Varahamihira too has written a text called
'Panchasiddhantika' wherein he discusses the same. Most of the
ancient works are not available today. We come across other works
wherein the authors have quoted the more ancient works.

Aryabhatta I
Among the most famous contributions to the science of astronomy,
come Aryabhatta's and Bhaskara's works. Aryabhatta (AD 476-523)
belonged to Tiruvankur in Kerala though he also seems to have lived in
Kusumapura. He wrote the first edition of his 'Aryabhateeya' when he
was just 23 years old. He also seems to have revised the book when
he was older. It is this revised edition that has survived today. I
cannot do justice to the greatness of his work in an article of this sort
and will confine myself to merely asserting that in the world history of
science Aryabhatta is among the greatest of the great. Whether it is
the earth's motion around the Sun, the motion of the stars, or the
calculation of the circumference of a circle, or the discovery of Sine,
Aryabhatta's contributions span across various fields like astronomy,
mathematics (including Geometry), and knowledge of Time etc. His
works gave a big boost to astrology too as astrology includes the
knowledge of ganita (mathematics), gola (astronomy) and kalakriya
(Time and planetary motion), all of which the 'Aryabhateeya' takes to
hitherto unknown heights in many ways. Hereafter began the period
when many astrology classics came to be written. No wonder
Aryabhatta's fame spread to foreign countries too, inspiring the Arabs
to not only study his work but spread it across the world.

Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra

Some say that the Parasara who wrote BPHS (Brihat Parasara Hora
Sastra) belonged to a period between 500 BC and 500 AD and that he
is not the same as Parasara the father of Vyasa. One argument against
this is that the language and style of BPHS indicate that it could be a
relatively ancient work, written around the same time as Vyasa. But
that alone wouldn't make a strong case. Instances of other good works
authored by scholars with the same name as Sankaracharya or
somebody else are not very uncommon. It is possible for someone else
to write in an ancient style especially if he is trying to make it
authentic (I am not suggesting that this is exactly the case with
BPHS).
 What seems to have happened (according to my understanding) is
that Maharishi Parasara taught the principles of the BPHS to his
disciple Maitreya. This set of teachings was handed down over the
generations. But part of the teachings were lost or at least hidden
during later times. When astrology surfaced back again, these
teachings were not easily available. Between 5 th century BC and 5th
century AD a great astrologer who was either referred to or adopted
the name of Parasara, took it upon himself to revive the teachings.
The currently available BPHS is probably the second Parasara's
attempt to put together the original teachings of Parasara. It cannot
be ruled out they could also be the same as sage Parasara's teachings
largely. But the second Parasara must have attempted to fill in the
gaps. This is one way that we could reconcile the two theories. Of
course this is all speculation based on the available contradictory
beliefs and scholars could go into hair-splitting arguments on this.

The very process through which the BPHS has been put together in
the last century is prone to error. In fact if one starts getting into this,
a lot of time will go into this with no definite conclusions finally. The
available data is incomplete and altered. It is well known that the
currently available BPHS has many interpolations, and individual
copies of some traditional scholars from different places vary to some
extent. I myself have come across at least four variant versions that
differ here and there. Some scholars suggest that the Uttarakhanda of
the BPHS was a subsequent addition. Due to various such reasons one
cannot take any statement as INFALLIBLE since a lot that has been
attributed to Parasara or Jaimini, may not be really true. The words of
the later scholars should only be taken as a foundation and could be
treated reasonably seriously, but not in an infallible manner. Leaving
this controversy aside let me proceed with the story of Jyotish.

Apart from the division of the periods into Vedic, Puranic,

Agamic/historic there is yet another division that appeals to an
astrologer-historian as far as Jyotisha is considered.

• Pre-Varahamihira
• Post-Varahamihira

Varahamihira's influence
 Such is Varahamihira's place in the history of Jyotisha. He extracted
the best of his predecessors' ideas and crystallized the science of
astrology by adding his own insights and observations thus
contributing to the systematization of Jyotisha. Varahamihira (505AD),
the most famous of all Indian astrologers, came later to Parasara. I
cannot agree with David Pingree's biased views about the dates of
various Indian sages, astrologers and scholars as internal evidences
clearly prove him wrong. Pingree places Parasara much later than
Varahamihira based on untenable grounds. If that is so, how could
Varahamihira mention Parasara's name in Brihat Jataka' (see chapter
2, second sloka)? While one may agree that Brihat Parasara Hora
Sastra itself has been redacted and expanded upon many times (even
after Varahamihira's times) Parasara's teachings were already in vogue
in a major way during Varahamihira's times. That is why Varahamihira
merely refers to Parasara's opinion without elaborating much.

A perusal of various chapters of Varahamihira's 'Brihat Jataka' like

'Ayurdayadhyaya', 'Rajayogadhyaya', 'Grahayoniprabedhadhyaya' etc
allows us to draw a list of the ancient astrologers who predated
Varahamihira. They are Maya, Yavana, Manitha, Saktipoorva or
Parasara, Satyacharya, Vishnugupta, Devaswamy, Siddhasena,
Jeevasena, etc. Satyacharya has established a school of thought that
goes by the name 'Dhruva matham'. His 'Satya Jataka' is a very useful
text to students of astrology.

A more complete list of all the illustrious ancient astrologers who

predated Varahamihira (based on other works like Brihat Samhita,
Panchasiddhantika etc) includes Pitamaha, Surya, Lagadha, Narada,
Atri, Bhrigu, Vasishta, Kasyapa, Poulastya, Maya, Yavana, Visnugupta,
Devaswamy, Siddhasena, Poulisa, Romaka, Jeevasarma, Satyacharya,
Manitha, Sphudidhwaja, Latadeva, Aryabhatta etc.

As already stated Varahamihira systematized all astrological and

astronomical knowledge available during his times in the form of
books. He influenced and was in turn influenced by the western
astronomers and astrologers. He has codified and verified the
principles enunciated by various other astrologers and rishis. He was
catholic in his outlook and embraced astrological principles from
foreigners too, whom he held in respect. Varahamihira had written
excellent books on all the three main divisions of Jyotisha- Jataka,
Samhita and Siddhanta. While Parasara is considered the father
of Jyotisha, one can say that in many respects Varahamihira is
the father of modern Jyotisha. It is only later that others followed
suit. There are at least five main commentaries on Varahamihira's
'Brihat Jataka'.

• Bhattotpala's commentary
• Mudrakshari
• Subhodini
• Sripatiyam
• Dasadhyayee

Though the dasadhyayee deals with only the first ten chapters, the
illustrious author Bhattathiri has dealt with multiple meanings and
interpretations for each sloka. Bhattathiri is a famous astrologer from
Kerala who is said to belong to the period between the 13 th and 16 th
centuries. That Bhattathiri's commentary enjoyed a special status in
spite of it dealing with only the first ten chapters of Brihat Jataka is
evident from the following sloka from 'Prasna Marga' , which itself is
among the finest texts ever written in the history of astrology- "One
who attempts to predict without studying the Dasadhyayi is like a
person trying to cross an ocean without a boat". Till a few centuries
back it was an established practice among Kerala astrologers to learn
both the 'Brihat Jataka' and 'Dasadhayee' by heart. In addition to the
many commentaries on Varahamihira's works, his influence is clearly
seen on later authors in many ways. But before dealing with the later
day classics it is apt that I acquaint the reader with Bhaskara I and II
as well as Aryabhatta II.

Bhaskara I and Aryabhatta II

Like Aryabhatta, Bhaskara too belonged to Kerala. In addition to
authoring 'Mahabhaskareeya' and 'Laghu Bhaskareeya' he is also
known to have authored a commentary on 'Aryabhatteya'. This
commentary is called 'Aryabhatta tantra bhasya which is unavailable
today. Though written around 629 AD his work seems to have been
widely followed up to the 15 th century. Aryabhatta II who seems to
have lived around 950 AD authored the book 'Mahasiddhanta'
consisting of eighteen chapters and 625 slokas. Likewise there is a
second Bhaskara- Bhaskara II - who was born in 1114 AD in
Vijjadavida village near the Sahyadri parvata in today's Maharashtra .
The following Information is based on a silasasana at the Bhavani
temple situated about 10 miles from Chalis gaon.
 Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya)
Bhaskaracharya's (Bhaskara II) grandson Changadeva was an
important astrologer in king Singhana's court. Singhana ruled Devagiri
from 1210 to 1237 AD. Another by name Somadeva, a minor king
under Singhana, donated towards a special school of astrology
(matham based on the teachings of Bhaskaracharya and others)
founded by Changadeva. It is known from other such silasasanas that
Bhaskara's ancestors too were astrologers in their own right. Upto 6
generations of Bhaskara's ancestors have been referred to.

Bhaskaracharya himself authored two famous books- 'Siddhanta

Siromani' and 'Karana Kutoohala' both dealing with Gola and Ganita
largely. Bhaskaracharya was 69 years old when he authored 'Karana
Kutoohala'. 'Siddhanta Siromani' is a popular text consisting of four
divisions or parts- Leelavati, Beejaganita, Ganitadhyaya and
Goladhyaya. He gives numbers upto parartha i.e. 10 17 . The eight
methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square,
square root, cube, cube root, are all dealt with in this book.
Permutations and combinations (ankapasa), unknown quantities (such
as X, Y, Z) positive and negative values, zero and infinity, are all dealt
with quite elaborately. Of course Bhaskaracharya seems to have
followed Brahmagupta's 'Brahmaguptasphuta Siddhanta' (628 AD) as
far as the use of Zero in geometry is concerned. Eclipses, planetary
rise and set, the earth's radius, trigonometry etc are all covered by
Bhaskara II. In the yantradhyaya while dealing with various yantras
(mechanical devices) to calculate the planetary spheres, he asserts
that intelligence is the best of all yantras. The popularity of
Bhaskaracharya's works may be inferred from the fact that even
Muslim kings like Akbar and Shahjahan supported the translation of
Leelavati and Beejaganita to Persian. Without dwelling more on this, I
will draw attention to the fact that numerous commentaries have been
written on Bhaskaracharya's work.

Kalyana Verma, Vaidyanatha and Mantreswara

Kalyana Varma (6 th century AD), Vaidyanatha (13 th century AD)

and Mantreswara (16 th century AD) are some other important names.
Kalyana Varma crystallises very comprehensively Varahamihira's
works as well as those of others like Yavana while Vaidyanatha models
his wonderful work "Jataka Parijata" after Varahamihira and Kalyana
Varma. His work is widely acclaimed and is also among the prescribed
list of texts for any serious student. In fact it is second only to the
'Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra' in its treatment of the various topics of
predictive astrology.

Mantreswara who hails from Tirunelveli district of South India has

written a very useful text. His 'Phala Deepika' is unique in some ways.
While other astrological works merely mention the Sarvatobhadra
charka, Mantreswara actually deals with its use. His chapter on transits
is quite useful. He also deals with other valuable concepts like Kshetra
and Beeja sphutas.

It is almost impossible to list all the illustrious scholars and their

contributions in an article of this sort, with such a rich tradition
available, not to speak of the ancient Jaina astrologer-seers and their
works. Moreover it becomes even more difficult to list all the sages
and various schools of Jyotish like Bhrigu matham, Dhruva matham,
Jaimini matham, etc. I will reserve that for a full-fledged discussion on
the various schools of Jyotisha in another article though I will refer to
Jaimini astrology briefly.

Jaimini
Jaimini's school of thought (Jaimini matham) is a slightly variant and
specialized school of Jyotisha . Jaimini has codified the principles of
this school in his 'Jaimini Sutras'. Many astrologers hold that this is a
distinct system from Parasara's school of thought while some hold that
Jaimini principles are part of Parasara's all encompassing classic. There
are some chapters in Parasara's magnum opus (Brihat Parasara Hora
Sastra) that deal with Jaimini matham too. While it is true that
Parasara's text deals with parts of Jaimini, the definitive and more
authoritative text for Jaimini methodology is the Jaimini Sutras and the
commentaries on it. Whether Parasara's text was earlier or later than
Jaimini is debatable. But what is certain is that Jaimini has specialized
exclusively in this system

Among the most glaring of David Pingree's blunders is his dating of

Jaimini's 'Upadesa Sutras'. He asserts that because of 'the lack of
earlier citations and internal evidence', one cannot date the text of
Jaimini (and his teachings) before c. 1700! Moreover he even writes
that it shows a strong Greek influence! To my knowledge, Jaimini
matham is so unique that leave alone a 'strong Greek influence' it is
hard to draw even reasonable parallels between Jaimini and Greek
astrology. As for the date, nothing can be more erroneous. Even
'Kalpalata' the commentary of Somanatha on Jaimini astrology is older
than the date assigned to the original text itself. Sri Madhura
Krishnasmurty Sastry (in a conversation that I had with him) opines
that the Kalpalata itself belongs to the 11 th century AD. As is obvious
from the text 'Kalpalata' certain areas of Jaimini methodology had
already become obscure during Somanatha's times. So one may safely
infer that the original teachings of Jaimini must have preceded
Somanatha's times by a few centuries at least if not many centuries!
For the reader's benefit I will list some of the interesting commentaries
on Jaimini astrology that I have come across.

• Krishna Misra's 'Jyotisha Phala Ratnamala',

• Raghava Bhatta's 'Jataka Saara Sangraha',
• Narasimha Suri's 'Jaimini Sutrartha Prakasika',
• Somanatha's 'Kalpalata',
• Nrisimha Daivagna's 'Jaimini Sutra Vyakhya',
• Singayarya's 'Jataka Rajeeya'
• Nilakantha's
• Venkateswara's and
• Balakrsnananda Saraswati's commentaries

Most of the above works are available only in Sanskrit. The

'Kalpalata' of Somanatha Misra is a very interesting text among the
above lot. Somanatha is the son of Krishna Misra the author of
'Jyotisha Phala Ratnamala'. While Venkateswara, Nilakantha and
Narasimha Suri have commented on the first two chapters only,
Somanath's 'Kalpalata' covers all the four chapters and can be easily
rated as one of the exhaustive commentaries. To my knowledge it is
not yet available in print. Nilakantha's commentary on the first two
chapters is in great use and is the most easily available one. With this
brief overview of Jaimini jyotisha I will now move on to yet another
school of astrology- Tajika.

Tajika
While some think that the varshaphal (solar return) and the
progressed chart are both contributions of western astrology, most
Indian astrologers maintain that it is definitely Indian in origin. During
the Mughal rule, Tajika did gain prominence especially in north India .
Certain Urdu or Persian words in Tajika do show the influence of Arabic
(medieval) astrology leading one to infer some cross-cultural
influences on Jyotisha as far as Tajika is considered. In fact the
Sahams are in principle, the same as Arabic parts. But one has to be
very cautious in claiming that Tajika is entirely western in origin as
Tajika still uses most of the fundamentals of Parasari though certain
foreign concepts have been grafted on to the mother plant of Jyotisha.

British and Post-Independence India

With the entry of the British in India , gradually all that was Indian
fell out of favor. Astrology too suffered in general. Yet the secrets of
astrology were well preserved in the traditional families, though some
knowledge seems to have been lost. The biggest loss of astrological
knowledge seems to have occurred during the period of the rise of
Buddhism and not during any other time. Yet it is true that after and
during the British rule, most educated Indians especially the politicians
adopted a pseudo scientific attitude, leading to an irrational public
denial of astrology, while during the evenings the same persons would
be consulting astrologers!

In the past century, Jyotisha was revived by the efforts of one

person more than anyone else. It is none other than the late
Dr.B.V.Raman. His efforts to forward the cause of Jyotisha through his
books and the Astrological Magazine (founded by his grandfather Sri B.
Suryanarain Rao), easily entitle him to be named as the greatest
popularizer and crusader of Jyotisha in the modern times. The ICAS
too was founded by him. Yet it is some other astrologers who are said
to have pioneered some researches into Jyotisha.

Sri Seshadri Iyer popularized the divisional charts with his 'New
Techniques of Prediction'. In fact my first teacher of astrology was a
student of Sri Seshadri Iyer. Meena's (Sri R. Gopalakrishna) nadi
astrology was another innovative thought. Especially his idea of the
sublords, based on Parasara's Vimsottari dasa, is a novel idea. But it
was the late Sri Krishnamurti, who refined the sub lord theory by
proposing 249 subs instead of Meena's 243 subs, and eventually
evolved his much acclaimed as well as controversial Krishnamurti
paddhati (system popularly called KP).

KP is a unique methodology that combines ruling planets, sublords,

Placidus houses and cuspal sublords, the use of Nakshatras and a
characteristically different way of arriving at significators that make it
brilliant at times. That this methodology gives excellent results (at
least with Prasna), is often acknowledged even by his detractors. Even
forgetting his use of the sub lord for predictions, he deserves credit for
first coming up with a near mathematical astrological working model
for the phenomenon of Synchronicity- the reference here being to the
'Ruling Planets' theory. Of course there are no direct references to the
phenomenon of Synchronicity in Krishnamurti's work. Nor does he
seem to be aware of Carl Jung's work on Synchronicity. But the link is
obvious to a serious student of both psychology as well as astrology.
In fact many good astrologers laid emphasis on the use of nakshatras
in the sixties and seventies. From Krishnamurti to Seshadri Iyer, the
role of nakshatra as the sukshma (subtle) lord, received more
prominence. In fact Krishnamurti called his methodology, 'Stellar
astrology'. These two astrologers have influenced many students.

In the modern times among the generation of senior astrologers,

though many other scholars like the late Sri D.V.Subba Rao,
Prof.P.S.Sastri, Sri Madhura Krishnamurty Sastry and a host of others
deserve mention, one name stands head and shoulders above all
others for forwarding the cause of Indian astrology as also for inspiring
thousands of astrology lovers and students. It is none other than Sri K.
N. Rao, around whom, grew the largest body of astrologers. His role in
moulding and guiding a whole generation of astrologers is awe-
inspiring. He has guided groups of astrologers in conducting
researches, trying to validate the replicability of certain astrological
principles, often giving his own ideas for others to research. Whether
or not one agrees with all his views, one thing cannot be denied even
by his detractors - his role in inculcating a scientific temper among
vedic astrologers, persuading astrologers not to be dogmatic, but be
liberal in interpreting the classical works and finally in re-popularizing
the varga charts by demonstrating their use (even with respect to the
varga charts I consider his contribution to be at least as valuable or
even more than Sri Seshadri Iyer's).

Jyotisha in the West

Though there were quite a few people studying Jyotisha in the
west since decades back, it was only the nineties that saw Jyotisha
pick up more momentum in the west, especially the US . The western
disciples of gurus like Paramahamsa Yogananda, Srila Prabhupada,
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, and many others also contributed to the
growing interest in Jyotisha in the west. The formation of the American
Council of Vedic Astrology due to the efforts of David Frawley and
group has resulted in a definite growth of interest in Vedic astrology
both within and outside India and seems to have inspired other such
Vedic astrology councils in a few more countries. The author of this
article is the President of the Australian Council of Vedic Astrology
which was founded in the late nineties by Keven Barrett. Other
councils such as the British Council too deserve a mention.

The revival of Jyotisha

All this has led to the revival of Jyotisha in a big way, thanks to the
internet too. The present Indian government's efforts to introduce
Jyotisha courses in the Universities, comes at an interesting juncture.
Today Jyotisha is at a vital phase of rejuvenation. It is going through
many changes, both positive and negative.

Any art or science is bound to benefit when foreigners study it.

Western astrologers will be able to add to the richness of Jyotisha,
their ideas and views. While the general advantage of cross-cultural
interactivity and the resultant liberalization of interpretation of the
principles, along with the decline in dogmatism are encouraging, there
may be another side to it. Lack of knowledge of the background of
Jyotisha, cultural gap (with the resultant half-knowledge) and
bastardization of some jyotisha techniques where they ought to remain
pristine, are some things that worry some traditional jyotishis. Yet the
Universe knows how to take care of itself. Eventually in the coming
decade, a new phase or rebirth of Jyotisha is bound to occur. Jyotisha
will be popular the world over, with more and more astrologers
switching to, or at least learning Jyotish.

Tradition- a dual edged sword

One last word. Vedic astrologers have one big advantage that
astrologers of other traditions probably have in a lesser measure- a
rich body of knowledge, oral and written, as well as known and hidden.
Yet it should be remembered that the available data is incomplete and
altered. Due to various reasons, certain places have been altered, new
verses inserted, and so on. A lot that is attributed to sages like
Parasara or Jaimini may not be really authentic. While this is the case
with the so-called teachings of the sages, we should be open to the
fact that the works of later authors could be erroneous here and there.
Of course they derived their ideas from the teachings of the sages.
While they are all brilliant, couldn't we be open to the fact that they
could also make some mistakes. Aren't there enough contradictions?
So is it really worth repeating verses like parrots? Shouldn't we
investigate first into the truth behind some dictums? Do they work as
they are? Or do we need any research or modifications? What I am
suggesting is that if we can doubt some words of a 20 th century
scholar, how can we blindly think that a 15 th or 16 th century scholar,
or for that matter, any other scholar is infallible? I am not questioning
tradition here. All I am saying is that tradition shouldn't become
binding. The rich base that these great minds gave us should be
valued, but cannot be taken blindly. Most literature should be taken as
a starting point, but not blindly in an unquestioning manner. Do
western astrologers take Ptolemy or Hipparchus or anyone else as an
infallible authority as some of us do with a Mantreswara or
Vaidyanatha? Though they are all brilliant, can't we be open to change
and a healthy research mind? Faith and perseverance will surely help,
but will not further the cause of the subject. So what do we do? Lapse
into inaction and despair? No. We should be cautious when we take
certain verses literally.

Where do we draw the line? No one can say anything definitely. I

can only say what I myself do. Take the words of the sages
reverentially, but keep in mind that the available data is incomplete
and altered. Treat the scholars' (human) works as the foundation, but
have a healthy questioning attitude. Try new things to see if they
really work. Be open to good ideas wherever they come from.
Tradition has its role. Undeniably we are very lucky to have such a rich
base handed down to us. But we cannot stop there. When in doubt
over a scholar's opinion, a saint's words are taken as more
authoritative. In all matters of basic spiritual principles, the teachings
of the saints may be considered from time to time.

One can pray and hope for guidance and be open to the truth in
whatever form or wherever it comes from. If there are certain
techniques in Western astrology that can enhance our understanding
or practice of Jyotisha as an art or science, we should gladly be open
to studying them. Science cannot stagnate. Each generation has to
contribute something to further our knowledge. While this is applicable
to Jyotisha too as a science, the spiritual foundations of Jyotish will
remain unchanged, for they are based on certain timeless truths. The
spiritual principles of Jyotish are based on relatively higher occult
truths and this part of Jyotisha will not change. Any attempt to tamper
with these principles will break the very foundations of Jyotisha. As JK
proclaimed, "Truth is a pathless land". No country or religion or path
can claim it exclusively. Salutations to all the brilliant astrologers!
Salutations to all the sages who revealed the divine knowledge!
Salutations to the One radiant Self that shines in all!
 Post script
There is a general trend, a shift in paradigm since the last century
with the progress in Quantum physics, which has influenced all areas
of human knowledge. Nichola Tesla, an eminent physicist opined that,
"The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will
make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of
its existence." Quantum physics has already opened a dialogue with
other arts and sciences. Art, philosophy, poetry, physics, psychology,
medicine and astrology, are all beginning to meet again as they did in
the ancient times. Multidisciplinary studies into the cross roads
between some of these fields will interest more and more seekers,
eventually leading us 'Back to our Cosmic Roots'- the One Source of
all.

What will be its impact on Astrology as an academic subject?

While the spiritual foundations of Jyotisha are unchanging and
timeless in some sense, the APPROACH to astrology could be
influenced by the times and the paradigm shift. Astrology will
sooner or later have to be ready for its new (?) role. A strong influence
of Humanistic and/or Transpersonal psychology is increasingly evident
on a large number of intellectuals during the modern times. Carl
Jung's works have begun to influence some in the Jyotisha camp too,
while most western astrologers are already looking at astrology
through the eyes of modern psychology. Yet one should not mistake
the superficial approach to psychology that some western astrologers
adopt in the name of "psychological readings". Likewise one shouldn't
mistake the fatalistic approach to life that some eastern astrologers
adopt in the name of karma . Most vedic astrologers feel that
psychological astrology is for lesser brains who dare not predict, while
most tropical astrologers are wary of and look down upon "fortune
telling", as they refer to predicting. As an astrologer who studied and
practiced both the approaches, I feel that both are wrong. How can
one predict without understanding the psychological roots? On
the other hand how would one be sure that all these
psychological readings are right unless one is able to predict
fairly well based on one's understanding of such psychological
roots. After all, any science does try to predict, though in a different
sense. One has to pay tribute to Indian astrology for keeping alive the
tradition of predictive astrology in tact. Nowhere else in the world is
astrology a continuous living tradition as it has been in India .

I feel that the primary purpose of astrology is not fortune telling, but
an exploration of consciousness, a journey into the psyche, into the
unconscious forces which stem from the past vasanas , into the
'shadow' (a term used by Carl Jung which comes close to the tantric
papa purusha ), into the universe that we have within us, into the
conflict between the opposing forces and the process of attaining
equilibrium. Of course these forces manifest as our (as well as others')
reactions to situations, situations that we attract to ourselves because
of these unconscious drives ( vasanas and samskaras ), which thus
indirectly influence our life path. Fortune telling based on such symbols
of the psyche like the horoscope, dreams, omens etc is the most
ordinary usage of this knowledge, albeit an application prone to error
due to various factors. Nevertheless astrology can help us understand
our karma, especially the hidden or unseen factors that shape our life
as our own karmic forces, and thereby encourage us to take
responsibility for our actions. But the highest benefit of a study of this
kind of a subject is Self-actualization or individuation- a process that
assists the individual in an expression of one 'self', taking one to the
final stages of Nirvana. Astrology can help an individual in integrating
the many facets of the psyche to become "'ONE'-'SELF'". When this
happens the individual feels a sense of psychic "wholeness", which is a
natural state of equilibrium. Don't the ancient texts promise that
anyone who studies and teaches astrology is assured of final liberation
( moksha )? Perhaps that is the ultimate goal of a spiritual system like
astrology and the above is only a modern way of saying the same.
 Laghu Parashari Sidhant (Jataka Chandrika)
The ancient classic Laghu Parashari, whose authorship is not known, is
a brief but important one dealing with the application of the Vimsottari Dasa
dasa system in 42 verses divided into five chapters.

Chapter 1
Samajna Adhyaya

1. We pray to Goddess Sarasvati who has red lips, who holds Veens (a
musical instrument) in her hand; she is the real strength of Lord Brahma
who is so greatly spoken of in the Upanishads.

2. For the enlightenment of the learned astrologers, I compose this Udu-

daya-Pradeep on the basis of Parashara Hora-Shastra.

3. We will include the Astrological results (good or bad) of the Nakshatra

Dasha Paddhati as shown in Vimshottari System; and do not believe in
Ashtottari System.

4. The learned should make themselves familiar with the fundamentals of

Astrology through other works. Here only the specific principles will be
explained.

5. All the planets (beginning with the Sun) aspect the planets in the 7th
House with a full sight; but Saturn aspects those in the 3rd and 10th
Houses with extra ordinary Drishti, so does Jupiter aspect them in the 5th
and the 9th, and Mars in the 4th and the 8th Houses with a full sight.

6. All the planets owning Trines, i.e. the 1st, 5th and 9th Houses by signs
produce uniformly good results, whether they are benefics or malefics. If
they own the Trick houses, i.e. the 3rd, 6th and 11th houses by signs, they
are always disposed towards evil.

7. It is commonly believed that benefics (Jupiter, Venus, strong Moon and

well associated Mercury) when they own Angles by sing i.e. 4th, 7th and
10th houses they give good results; but as per Laghu Parashari this will not
be true unless they are lords of the Trines also simultaneously. The same
way, according to the popular belief, the malefics (the Sun, Mars, Saturn
debilitated or waning Moon and ill-associated Mercury) give evil results; but
according to Laghu Parashari if they do not own Trishdai (3-6-11) houses,
they do not give evil results and become progressively more and more
powerful as lords of the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses.
8. Lords of the 2nd and 12th houses are powerful not because of their own
merit; they are greatly influenced in giving good or bad results by their
association or position in the chart.

9. Lord of the 8th house (Randhresh) by virtue of being the 12th (Vyayesh)
from the 9th (Bhagyesha) does not produce good results; but if he happens
to be the lord of the Ascendant/Ascendant and occupies the 1st or the 8th
house, he becomes benefic.

10. Amongst benefics the evil nature of Jupiter and Venus when they are
lords of the Angles is extraordinary. If they own or occupy the Maraka
sthana as lords of the Angles they become powerful killers.

11. Mercury has less of this evil nature as compared to Venus; the Moon
has much less than that of Mercury. The same way the Sun and the Moon
are not evil being Asthmesh (lord of the 8th).

12. (In Cancer nativity) Mars, a malefic, gives good results not being the
lord of the 10th house only bu by being the lord of a Trine house (5th) also.

13. Rahu and Ketu in spite of being in dignity, give good or bad results
according to their position or association.

This brings to the end of Samajna Adhyaya.

Chapter 2
Yoga Adhyaya

14. When there exist mutual aspect and reception between the lords of
angles and Trines and their second sign does not fall in any other house
than Angles and Trines, they give extra ordinarily good Yoga Karaka
results.

15. Lords of the powerful Trine and Angle, i.e. the 10th and the 9th houses,
in spite of being lords of trik houses by their other signs, if have mutual
aspect, reception or association, give good results.

16. The first of these relationship is considered superior to the 2nd which in
turn is superior to that of the 3rd.

17. This gives rise to one doubt, whether the effects in all the Angular -
Trinals will be the same or in any way varied. This point has been clarified
in the succeeding Shloka.

18. Amongst the Trines, the 5th and the 9th houses are considered
powerful and if, with the lord of either of these, the powerful lord of the
angle, the 10th house, has relationship, then such a Yoga becomes most
effective.

19. Now benefics give auspicious results even without any relationship
during their Dasha. Whether the malefic will be instrumental in giving the
Yogaphal even when they are related? Its answer is given in the
succeeding Shloka.

20. If the same planet happens to own the Angle and Trine the results are
propitious. If it has relationship with the Lord of any other Trine, the effect
will be most auspicious.

21. If Rahu or Ketu occupying an Angle or Trine has relationship with the
Lord of any other Angle or Trine, the Yoga will be effective.

22. If the Lords of the 9th and 10th houses are also respectively Lords of
the 8th and the 11th, their relationship is not conductive to any Yoga.

This brings to the end of Yoga Adhyaya.

Chapter 3
Ayurdaya Adhyaya

23. The 8th house from the Ascendant and the 8th from the 8th, i.e. the 3rd
are the two houses of longevity. The houses related to death are the 12th
from each of these. Thus the 2nd and the 7th are the Maraka houses.

24. Out of these two Marakasthanas (2nd-7th) the 2nd house is more
powerful. During the ruling period of the Lords of the 2nd and the 7th, the
malefics occupying them or associated with them, the death of the native is
possible.

25. If a native, before his birth, has already lived/passed the Dasha periods
of the aforesaid Marakas or no malefic is there with the Markesh or occupy
these houses, the Lord of the 12th house from the Ascendant during his
Dasha period may be expected to inflict death.
26. In the absence of the Dasha period of all or any of these Lords, the
Dasha of a benefic planet to the Lord of the 12th house may be stated as
responsible for inflicting death. End may also be possible in the Dasha of
the Lord of the 8th house.

27. In the absence of the past Marakas the death inflicting agents may be
traced to the succeeding Lords who may prove fatal in their major or sub-
ruling periods.

28. If Saturn is ill-disposed and related to Maraka planets, he will be the

first to inflict death over other plants.

This brings to the end of Ayurdaya Adhyaya

Chapter 4

Dasha Phala Adhyaya

29. All the planets do not give good or bad results according to their
Atmabhavanurupa during their own Antar in their own Dasha.

30. Dasha Nath (Lord of the Dasha) gives his own Dashaphal (effects of his
Dasha) in the Antar of those planets who are (Sambandha Karta) related to
him or are of like nature (the 9th) and give similarphal as that of the Dasha
Nath.

31. Those Planets who give results contrary to the Atamasvabhava of the
Dasha Nath the effects in their Antar are by adjustment between the two
(Lords of the ruling period and those of the sub-period). (An admixture of
good and bad effects is seen in the Antar of the Lord of Trishdai during the
main ruling period of the Dasha Natu if they are unrelated).

32. The Lord of the angle in his Dasha and the Antar of the Lord of Trine
gives good effects if there is mutual relationship between them.

The lord of the Trine in his Dasha and the Antar of the Lord of Trine give
good effects if there is mutual relationship between them.
They both give evil effects when there is no mutual relationship between
the two.

32. Therefore, in the Dasha of Evil Lord of the Angle and the Antar of the
Lord of Trine (if not evil) good results are expected. The word ‘Papakrit’ evil
is applicable to the Lords of Angles only in this Shloka.

33. If a Raja Yoga is operative in the Sub-period of a Yogakaraka but

Maraka planet, it improves the effect of such a Yoga. In the same way the
sub-period of a malefic promotes the results.

34. Also in the ruling period of the Yoga-Karaka planet gives good results in
his sub-period of benefic planets who may not be related, he gives
immediate effects depending upon his strength.

35. In some cases the Yoga Karaka planet gives good results in his sub-
period during the main ruling period of a benefic related to him.

36. Rahu-Ketu, if posited in a Trine or Angle and are not related to any
other planet, give good results during their main ruling period and in the
sub-period of a Yoga Karaka.

This brings to the end of Dasha Phala-Adhyaya

Chapter 5
Misraka Adhyaya

37. During the Maha Dasha of malefic planets the results are invariably
unfavourable in the Antar of unrelated benefics; these results are mixed
(both good and bad) in the Antar of related benefics and these results are
specially bad in the Antar of unrelated Yoga Karakas.

38. If the Dasha Nath are malefics then the Antar of their unrelated benefics
always gives evil effects; the Antar of their related benefics gives mixed
effects and that of their unrelated Yoga Karakas gives very bad effects.

39. Death inflicting planet does not become a killer during his main ruling
period and the sub-period of related benefics. Rather, he becomes a
Maraka during the period of unrelated malefics.

40. During the sub-period of Saturn in the main ruling period of Venus,
Saturn enhances the result of Venus, so is the case during the sub-period
of Venus in the main ruling period of Saturn. In other words the sub-period
Lord enacts like the main ruling period Lord.

41. If the lord of the Ascendant and that of the 10th mutually exchange
places, i.e., the Lord of the Ascendant is posited in the 10th and that of the
10th in the Ascendant then they form a Raja Yoga. They signify position,
power and reputation.

42. In the same way if the Lord of the 9th and that of the 10th mutually
exchange places, i.e., they are posited in each others house, they then
form a Raja Yoga and such a native is blessed with name, fame and power.
This brings to the end of Misraka Adhyaya
Om Tat Sat
 In view of the above discussions, several doubts and questions
which arise on Nadi Jyotish are consolidated here as far as possible at
random:-
What is the real origin of this Nadi Jyotish? – During the days of
‘Krutyug’ – great sages who could see through past, present & future
did write these nadi granthas.
Are they really written by some Sages and only by professional
astrologers? – Yes they are written by the great sages, not by mere
astrologers.
Are they the records of those born in earlier written on palm leaves
in those times?- did not understand this question.
Why a right thumb impression for male and left for female is to be
taken?- there has to be some scientific reason for the same which is
not known to me, may be some experienced nadi reader can answer
this question.
In what language they were written originally?- Sanskrit.
When were they translated into other languages?- His highness Sri.
Venkoji Maharaja, descendant of Sivaji Maharaja, established the Maratha rule in
Tamilnadu in the year 1676, with Tanjore as their Head Quarters. The control was taken
over by the Britishers in 1798 from the Marathas, when Robert Clive was the Governor
of Madras Presidency.The Marathas during their rules were true patrons of Arts, Science,
Medicine, Vedas, Astrology etc. The great works of ancient India were all kept in the
famous Saraswati Mahal Library at Tanjore and maintained by them.During the reign of
the great king Sarabhoji Maharaja, the Sanskrit works, including those relating to Naadi
Astrology were translated into old poetic Tamil Language and written on Palm leaves and
kept in Saraswathi Mahal Library. During the same period, though the whole North India
was under the control of Mohammediyans, the great Marathas managed to preserve all
such great works in their Saraswathi Mahal Library. Thus Naadi Astrology powers a
debut of gratitude to the Great Marathas for its existence today.
How many bundles of leaves are available in total?- no idea but I
don’t think it is material/relevant.
Is each set of leaves after some name of Nadi Jyotish is different ?-
did not understand the question.
Is there really anything written on the leaves at all or something
appear then and there?- my experience & observation says that it is
definitely pre-written & cannot be written then & there.
Is there any Mantra or some other means used by the Nadi
astrologers?- it is written in old poetic tamil language which must be
written in Sanskrit sholkas earlier.
Is there any specific science written to get the birth chart and birth
data from< the thumb impressions?- there seems to be some science
for identifying a bundle/s of leaves which are related to the thumb
impression taken of the person. My observation is that during the
reading of the leaves in the process of identifying the unique leaf, the
nadi leaves which are read, many are having some/most of the
information which matches with the person. For eg: if the person is
married, in most of the leaves, nadi reader will check the name of the
spouse whereas if the person is unmarried, vewry rarely you will find a
nadi with name of the spouse. (this is not after checking/confirming
whether the person is married or unmarried)
How the exact names can be told?- exactly, this is something which
no one can deny. All those who says that nadi astrology is fake, cannot
logically justify/explain that how come the name of the persons come
exactly same in the nadi without disclosing to the nadi reader. This is
possible only in 2 cases – one a person who is spiritually advanced &
can see through past/present & future or the other possibility is of
‘karna pishachha’.
What is the procedure followed by the nadi reader to pick up the
index leaves from his library from thumb impression?- this is
something to be learned/known from a good nadi reader who is willing
to share this knowledge for the sake of research.
How is it on some leaves only some type of funny pattern of lines
was written without any normal language form of script ?- no idea
what is this.
How is it that some type of Tamil script found on the leaves could
not be understood?- it is old/ancient form of tamil language hence
cannot be understood even by a tamil person.
Why do the readers give the future readings from the date of
consultation only at some intervals of age only?- the purpose of writing
the future is to give some direction & therefore is written in interval of
2/3 years. I understand that there are some special chapter/kandam
on current disha-bhukti which gives current period in more detail but
I’ve not personally experienced this. I understand that there are also
some sukshma nadi grantha which are more detail but needs to be
checked/experienced.
Why do they not give the occurrence of past events age wise
generally?- the purpose of having brief past/present mentioned in the
leaf is only to identify the nadi. Once the nadi is identified, then the
future is only important & not the past.
How do they give the names of foreigners also sometimes?- the nadi
grantha is not bound to Indian territory. If a person is destined to
know his future through the nadi, he will know it whether he
leaves/born in India or abroad. I personally know one case of a
foreigner whose all past & correct names came in his nadi.
 What is the material and sole of the leaf and and how they have
preserved so long?- they use some preservative oils to preserve the
same.
Are they rewritten at different intervals of time?- yes, they were
translated in tamil from original Sanskrit & then we do not know how
many duplication/copies of the same were made.
How are they trained and how long? – I understand there are
scientific procedure/method to become a nadi reader.

How do they link up the index leaf with the actual leaf of general
Kandam and other chapters of?-unique name of the unique fingerprint
is mentioned on the leaf which form a basis to link it with other
chapter/kandam leaves.
How can some readers say that such and such person is going to
consult on that day? – it is written in the nadi leaves, nadi reader are
just mediater/interpreatator.
Do the readings for the same person from different Nadis match
exactly? – I’ve observed experience of some people who have checked
at different centres & the reading is mostly matched. I wish to check
my own readings at as much centres as possible to have a first hand
experience.
Do the readings for the same person from the same nadi reader
from the same nadi taken at different interval of time say a year later
match exactly? – need to be researched.
Are you really to be destined to consult Nadi?- if so then only you
will reach there & at the destined time only.
Are the past readings given always perfectly correct ? – I’ve
observed that those who complain that there future is not coming
correct, have agreed that there past was correct.
How far the future reading goes perfectly right upto what time to
nearby future or to long future also? I’ve seen cases in which the
future predictions have come ture. To quote one beautiful example –
one lady when went for nadi reading was pregnant, delivery date was
after 3 weeks. Nadi said that she will deliver the next day which no
one elieved as she herself was not having any such signs, but it did
happen that next day she had pregnancy pains, was hospitalized &
delivered a baby, now will you say it as a coincidence?????
Do the reader himself involved in giving correct readings, includes
his training and experience?-yes.
Why do the remedial measures given in Shanti Kanda mostly refer
to the Gods/Goddess /Temples in Tamilnadu?- I want to clarify this as
it is experienced/observed by many people but my own experience
differs according to which the temples to be visited are not restricted /
sometimes none of them is in tamilnadu. We need to further study
that if the observation that the temples are from tamilnadu is applying
to all/most of the cases checked at particular centre/s then we need to
assess the reliability/authenticity of that centre.
Why do they prescribe the alms to be given to the nadi reader and is
it really written on the leaves ?- I believe that if it is at aunticate
centre, then it is as written in the leaves. I know some cases in which
it was mentioned that nadi reader should not charge anything to the
person, or the expenses of the temple visits/diksha kand to be borned
by the nadi reader. If the nadi reader is business minded or is
speaking on his own, why will he should say like this in some cases?
Are they actually reading what was written on the leaves ?- yes if
the nadi reader is authenticate.
Why are some of them in some form of trance with half closed eyes
as if they are not reading it from the leaves at all?- no idea, I’ve not so
far experienced this.
Why don't nadi readers give your leaf to you, if it really belongs to y
u?- no idea.
Can you read what is written there?- yes but u cannot understand
unless you know that language.
Will they show it you?-yes.
How many readings are there on each leaf?- one or sometimes 2.
How many index bundles are normally to be scanned to arrive at
your data?- it depends on case to case – varying from one to 4.
How many leaves are there in each bundle?- no idea but do not
think it is relevant.
Do they read without thumb impression, if the chart is given ?- no
idea but I suppose they are trained to check based on the thum
impression only.
Are the previous life readings given in different Nadis for the same
person
would be the same? – should be the same, needs to be researched.
Personally, I’ve checked one person’s nadi from agastya & vasistha –
both were matching.
How far the remedial measures given work?- yes this is the million
dollar question which really needs to be observed/researched. We
really need to come together to find out answer to this question as if
we can do it, it will be very useful to thw whole mankind & will give
totally new dimention to the medicine & helath of the people.
 Why do every nadi reader prescribe shanti definitely for every
person whenever
consulted?- very logical question. But I personally believe that since
we are still born on the earth in the kaliyug – it is the sign that we are
carrying some inpurities/past karmas with us which brings sufferings
to us in our life hence the shanty is required to burn those past
karmas if we want to have some positive change in our lifes & if we do
not want to burn those karmas through the sufferings.
Why do the chart given by them differ from the one prepared by you
in computers? – my personal experience is that the computer chart
matches with the one given in the nadi; if it is not matching then there
is a possibility that the nadi leaf is not urs or it may be fake??? Can’t
say…
Is their ephemeris from Vakya Siddhanta as told different from
others and how
far is it correct?- no idea on this.
Why do they tell the firth date, month and year in Tamil calendar
and then
correlate it Christian calendar, is it because the records were in
Tamil ?-yes.
If the records were in Sanskrit or Telugu language, how are the
birth data found in which calendar?- did not understand the question.
Are they following only the transits of major planets of Jupiter
Saturn etc?- no I don’t think so.
Why do they give readings of future events only age wise, not at a
particular
calendar date, month and year ?- need to see if nadi readers can give
explanation to this.
Do they know astrology at all?- nadi readers are not eseentially be
astrologers, though if they do have astrological background, it will help
them in better interpreatation.
Do they tell the exact names of twins , if the thumbprints are
given ? – no personal experience but planning to check this out.
Do they give the readings without the presence of the person
consulting and with the date presented by some person?- yes.
Do they give the reading by post if the required data is given and
fees sent? – yes.
How far they take the responsibility if the future readings given by
them do not
come true and what excuse do they give in such cases ?- I don’nt
think that if future doesn’t turn out to be what is mentioned, nadi
readers are responsible for the same. Mr. Oak in his book has very
rightly given the logical explanation to this question – why past is right
but future goes wrong.
Is there cheating by them?- after going thru the experiences in the
forum, it seems that there are many fake nadi readers, but then it is a
kaliyug with 75% wrong & 25% the truth, so this is very natural & this
is true in all other aspects of life, isn’t it??? If we find a fake doctor we
will not say that whole medicine is fake, so the same applies to
astrology & also to the nadi grantha/reader.
Are there any real astrological principles involved in those Nadis? –
yes but I believe that it is something beyonf the astrology. For eg: no
branch of astrology can help you to predict exact names of the person
& his family. This is something which comes from divine knowledge
only.
Why do they charge exorbitantly which many poor people cannot
afford?- if they are charging abnormally high fees, it is definitely wrong
& which can be one criterial to differentiate the right ones with the
wrong ones. Since it is bread & butter for the nadi readers, it is
perfectly in order to charge a normal fee according to the
period/inflation, etc in order to ensure that he can have an average
family life.
Do poor people are distend to consult them?- a noble nadi reader
should consult free to a poor people. But again, you will not find many
people who are very very poor – going to nadi reader because I don’t
think that they are/will be destined for the same. & those who are
destined, by some way or the other they will get it done even if the
fees are beyond their capcity to bear.
Is it worth spending lot of money in finding out the tricks of this nadi
astrology? – don’t we spend lot of money on many other things whch
may/does go waste. If we make cost benefit analysis, it is definitely
worth giving a try. One of the advantage of forum ike this or research
will be to arrive at the right/good quality centres I all areas & make
people educated so that they will end up reaching to the right centre &
will not get cheated & lose faith on the nadi.
Is it possible to do any research at all in this filed? – yes. There is
already research made by people like Mr. Oak, late shantaram Athavle,
etc. But still we need to have more coordinated/concrete & scientific
research.
Are there any Nadis with some Swamijis or in some Ashram or with
some other
persons who are not using it for professional commercial purposes and
give
readings when consulted?- need to be reasearched.
Are there any Nadis published fully, if so in what language?- difficult
to trace this. But it seems that it is available either in tamil or in
Sanskrit.
Why do some astrologers, who have got nadi Grantha not publish it
completely in a book form?- should be explored but publishing the
same will not be cost effective & I do not think that it is destined to be
that way.
Are there other aspects natural calamities, political set ups wars,
countries etc written also nadi granthas other than about persons and
if so why don't they publish it before hand?- yes some of the nadi
grantha do talk about such events, for eg: kaka bhujandar nadi does
have world major events mentioned.we need to explore if we can get
it known to the world but even if we do so, I don’t think that we can
stop change the events at national/world level as they are destined to
happen at the given time.
Are these Nadis written restricted to certain regions only, if so within
how many kilometers /miles and within what longitudes and
latitudes?- no do not have any geographical limits.
Is there any law, which is given in the Nadis to extend it other
persons and other regions?- it is not bound to any region.
How can a few bundles of leaves ,however large they re cover all life
patterns of all persons? – it is not covering all persons. It is written
only for the destined people.
What the addresses of all the nadi readers?- Mr. Oak has taken
great effort in publishing the same in his book which may be listed
with updation on our group.
Are there any persons who are really doing any genuine serious
research to find out the secrets of the nadi Jyotish if so what are their
addresses and what are their findings so far, have they published their
research anywhere?- need to be explored & such people need to be
bring together to have a consolidated synergetic effort in this field for
better & faster output.
Are there any persons who are exchanging their experience and
research with each in this field and if so what are their addresses?-
needs to be explored.
Are there any persons who had consulted all Nadis about them
personalities and published their readings comparing and verifying the
results if so what are their addresses?- Late Shantaram Athavle has
done significant research on this & has published a book – ‘nadi
grantha’ in marathi language.
Why can't the nadi readers tell the exact names of the wife/husband
before marriage, but can tell the e names of after marriage?- I think I
know one case in which the name of the spouse was told before
marriage & it did turn out to be the same in future, though more
observation need to be done in this area.
Why can't they tell the names of the children when they can tell
your name, your wife/husband name and names of parents?- need to
explore with the nadi readers.
Is there any danger or calamity or curse or those who possess these
nadi granthas and to their families when they practice it?- they will get
problems if they do not practice it religiously & use it to cheat people/
to have abnormal gains.
How did Sage Satyacharya, supposed to be inventor of nadi amshas
of 150 write the general life patterns for each nadi amsha and to what
percentage they match with a person's life pattern, if the person birth
amsha falls in one of the nadi amshas or is it that the person should
select the nearest nadi amsha pattern which matches with most of his
life events and if it is to be chosen for a newly born baby who has not
much specific events to check then how to fix up the nadi amsha?- no
knowledge in this area need to explore it.
Is there any method, if at all any, to draw the nadi amsha chart just
as other Vargas (divisional) charts and if so how to prepare such a
nadi chart and how to use it vis-à-vis rasi and other Vargas charts
(though it is not mostly known how to use the known Vargas charts
themselves specifically for a particular event in life!) no knowledge in
this area need to explore it.
Which are the mantra Nadis , the tantra Nadis, prasna Nadis etc and
what are the differences and how do they operate? – need to be
explored. I suppose mantra nadi is the normal one. Prasna nadi –
there are some available which give answers to ur questions which
needs to be explored.
Where are we now in our research on nadi Jyotish in finding out the
secrets, when they have existing from so many years?- I think now
where still to go a long way.
Are there any specific astrological principles used in nadi Jyotish
literature other than normal principles enunciated in standard ancient
text books by sage Parasara, Jaimini,Varahamihira, Mantreswara,
Vidyanatha, Kalidasa, Venkatesdaivagna, Bhaskara Jyotish,
Bhruhatjataka, Phaladeepika , Jatakaparijata, Uttara Kalamithra,
Sarvartha Chinthamani, Bhavadeepika, Sanketanidhi, Saravali etc ?- I
don’t think the sages have used any principles for this writing as thry
do not need to do so as everything is like an open book for them
though if one try to correlate the same with the astrological priniciples,
it should be in line with the same.
Do the nadi readers allow to record all the questions they ask as
they proceed
with the index leaves and is there any person who got such recorded
data in his personal case and if what is his address?- no idea, but I
don’t think a nadi reader will object to this, unless on one ground that
is a time dimension, but again, in my personal case, nadi reader
allowed me to do video shooting of the event, so if required we can
take complete event on a record for analysis.
How can the Nadi Reader tell that your parents are alive when y you
consult him when they are alive and tell that they are dead when you
consult him after their death and can such a thing can be told from
applying normal astrological principles?- nadi readers are just reading
what is written on the leaves. We need to explore such live cases to
verify the findings on this matter.. it is difficult to answer this using
normal astrological principles.
Similarly how can h e tell the exact number of brothers and sisters
and at age you were married etc and can these can be told so
precisely from any normal astrological rules?- again, it can be told
based on traditional astrology but needs that much expertise, but in no
case, normal astrology can help u to predict the names.
Will all the Nadis give the e life span for a person or different life
spans, when the names and chart and other past details match exactly
in all Nadis ?- to be explored.
Why some Nadis mention certain age as "Gandam" (danger to life)
and if it is surpassed the person would live upto certain other age ?-
this happens/applies in traditional astrology as well that certain
transtitor period is threatening to one’s life.
Has anybody found any clues to give exact predictions from the text
books available in the market on nadi Jyotish presently such as
"Bhrugu Nandi Nadi" by Shri R.G.Rao, Devakeralam (Chandrakala Nadi
)3 vols by Shri Late R.Santhanam commentary on "Saptarishi Nadi" by
Shri J.H.Bhasin, "Transits of planets on they birth chart" lesson of nadi
are the essence of astrology" by Shri R.G.Rao, "Kashyapa Hora -
essesnce of nadi astrology" by Shri R.G.Rao, "Nadi jyothisha or the
Stellar system of astrology"(out of print) by Shri Late R.Gopalakrishna
Rao (Pen name meena) "Satya jatakam (basis of Dhruvanadi) Sage
Satyacharya, "Practical Stellar Astrology (Based on Nadi Principles) by
Shri Late NV Raghavachari (Pen name Meena II), "Nadi system of
Prediction (Stellar-theory) by Shri Rattan Lal , "Doctrines of Suka Nadi
Retold - mysteries of nadi system of astrology unfurled" by Shri Late
R.Santhanam, "Profession from the position of planets -in rare nadi
granthas by Shri RG Ro, "Vedic Astrology and career" by Shri
V.Raghuraman, "Your Destiny in thumb" by Shri R.G.Rao "Bhrigu
Sutram Sage Bhrigu, "Bhrugu Prashna Nadi" by Shri R.G.Rao, General
life pattern from Dhruva Nadi and Nandi Nadi published for some Nadi
Amshas in the "Astrological Magazine", several articles published on
Nadi Astrology in the Astrological Magazines " other magazines and
new papers etc etc? – I’ve not read these books but sure that
predictions given in these books or based on these books will not
match with the one given in the leaves. These books can have general
principles, some knowledge, that’s it. Expert astrologer can reach
somewhere ased on this in predictions, but that he can do in other
forms of astrology as well, isn’t it?
Has anybody able to correlate the standard astrological principles
with the nadi astrology predictions authentically?- no idea, but
personally will like to see it done.
Can exact birth time be told by Nadi Readers? – no idea but the
expert nadi reader should be in a postion to do so.
Whether the Nadi reader and the translator add anything on their
own while reading and explaining? –should be possible but the ideal
nadi reader should work only as a mediator/interpretor.